End of Summer Day

We have an old friend that we recently reconnected with. She invited us up to her property on Lake Joy.

 

Melting

Hair dye + soccer practice =

Almost ready

When Mason and I were in Ethiopia, Cindy led an effort with Bob and Kenzie to get the boys room ready. This included buying an old door and transforming it into matching beds for the boys and repainting the room. They're still working on E's bed, but Mason is enjoying his. 

Orientation

It's almost official...we have a middle schooler 

Sounders

Crazy sold-out Sounders game, combined with a happy bday to Wil. Cindy left me alone to escort these munchkins through 70K people. I scared them silly so they stayed connected. 

And goal!

Beautiful Seattle night

Why I am scared of our yard

 

Birth certificate

As far as I can tell the process to bring E home goes something like this:

1. Receive birth certificate from Ethiopian government listing me as his mom

2. Receive Ethiopian passport

3. E gets medical check

4. Embassy receives his file

5. Embassy clears him to enter America

Yesterday I received an email with a copy of his new birth certificate, so step 1 is done. I'm still hopeful that will be returning to bring him home in mid-October. 

2nd annual San Francisco escape!

Once again, I was able to escape to visit Janel and Ryan in San Francisco! Janel taught me the importance of Star Wars as we watched the whole trilogy (4, 5 & 6) and the later created 1, 2, & 3. We went to the theaters and watched Turbo! Also we saw other movies like A Bugs Life, Hotel Transylvania and several others. (Whose names I cannot remember right now) :)
                                                      Penny has a new pillow!

 

WE WENT TO THE SAN FRANCISCO ZOO!! We saw the adorable baby giraffe!

                                             The giraffe and her mommy.

                                                     We took Janel's niece, Gracie, with us!

                                                The rhino posed for this picture :)

                                         The lemurs curled up in a cute heap together!

Flamingos! Fun Fact: they can only eat with their heads upside down! Sorry. :)

 I am glad my camera focuses well!

Janel and I thought this was completely hilarious!

                                                                   Gracie on the hippo!

                                                        Sleeping koalas are the cutest!

                                 The baby tiger is now more of a teenager, but still adorable!

                                                          The seagull photo bombs well!

                                            After the zoo, we went home and watched The Lorax!
The next day, we went to a Giants game with Janel's friend Julia and Gracie and her parents, Nick and Leslie.

                                                        Yes, I wore a giants t-shirt.

Penny in a bucket!

 Penny NOT in a bucket. Somehow she seems more relaxed.

    We were on our way to go camping with some of Janel's friends and we took a pit stop.  I  shamefully forgot what this bridge is called.

The pretty (but scary) view

Elephant seals! The one in the very front kept using its flipper to scoop sand onto its back, which the wind kept spraying in our faces.

Before we got to the camp grounds, I learned that Janels friends sons 1st birthday was the next day.  So we stopped and got him a cake.

  Thank you soo much Janel and Ryan for having me over!

Coming home

What a crazy ride these couple of weeks have been. We confirmed tickets on Friday for a Sunday departure to the middle of Africa, taking my adventurous friend Lauren and my favorite eight year old. We had few plans, not even a date for court. But as I sit here on the plane home, I'm reflecting on the fact that we did more than we ever could have planned. 

Adopted! The agency told me that had I not just hopped on a plane, we would not have made it through court before the closure. This would have added three months on to the process. Because I was in country, they were able to call the judge and request she see me at the same time they had summoned the birth mom, something that is usually a two-step process. When I left I was skeptical that it would happen, but now am elated!

My prince. The Ethiopian people are so warm and affectionate. And, Mason stands out like a unicorn, everywhere we went--and I mean EVERYWHERE--people would greet him like a prince. A man was walking with his 3 year old son and said "please may he greet you?" So Mason shook his hand. Then he pinged the kids cheeks and said to Mason "touch my baby, please touch him!" A police officer gave him a hug. Guards would high-five him and then pull him in for a chest bump. When we shopped in the open air market we had to walk away because a crowd kept growing as young boys dared one after another to go interact with him. A man carrying a soccer ball stopped and asked Mason to play for a minute. Many, many people said to me "your baby beautiful." We are about to renter the real world, but I will never forget how enthralled the Ethiopian people were with my white "baby."

The black babies. At the same time that Mason get so much attention, millions of kids are without families. Spending two weeks with orphans has changed my heart. There has to be a better solution for helping these kids. 

Gifts. The average Ethipian makes about 50 birr a day, which equals less than 3 dollars. Eating at a restaurant is usually 200-300 birr for the three of us, so $10-$15. Usually people tip 5 to 10 birr--to us almost nothing. The other day at lunch I left 21 birr (about a dollar) and once the waiter saw it he came back to the table, put his hand over his heart and said "thank you I love you my sister." It's an amazing feeling to give here because people are so needy. Mason gave away a couple of matchbox cars to some street kids and we saw the biggest smile ever once they realized what it was--they had a toy. I used my shoes for 2 muddy weeks and then gave then to 3 guys who stay all day in a shack the size of a phone booth on the way to the orphanage. When I came back they, plus two friends, hopped out onto the street and shook our hands and hugged us. Big, grateful smiles for my old muddy shoes. 

Traffic and exhaust. It's hard to describe the dirty, congested roads. Imagine a roundabout with 7 turnouts, cars stacked 3-4 going around it, and utter chaos. Horns honking constantly. Then realize that Ethiopia taxes imports so high that there's no such thing as a new car.  They are all broken down and then fixed without any concern about emission control. Black smoke spews from each one. And just went you get that visual, throw in the three-wheeled bajajs that dart between openings amongst the cars. Oh, and the goat that crosses the road. And the people that just run knowing that the cars aren't going fast enough to kill them. It's utter insanity. 

Comfort. I finally had a meltdown yesterday as I sat in the dark room of the older orphans. We had played with them for many hours and now we were leaving. It hit me that I had to leave my son in an African orphanage while I go back to my normal routine. As much as I tried to hold it in, the first tear dropped. It's hard to hide much in that room and pretty soon a couple of girls--maybe 11 or 12--were stroking my hair and rubbing my back. Which of course made me lose it entirely. I sat there realizing that I'm about to take an airplane back to the states, sleep in my comfortable bed, and have my comfortable life--and here they are trying to cheer me up. One of the girls started grooming me. She grabbed my fingers and fished out dirt from under my nails. A boy had a wad of tissue in his pocket and wiped my eyes. The whole thing was so very embarrassing, but incredibly sweet. Their tender way of consoling me also made it okay for me to leave. I know that E is in a place where he gets lots of love and tenderness. He truly is loved there and I was able to feel it. 

Ramblings from day six

Mason. I have come to know and appreciate Mason so much on this trip, and remembering how he acted will be one of my best memories. Most of all, I love the fact that he is able to strike a connection with anybody. When we returned home last night Lauren and I politely greeted the guard, then he yelled "MASON!" and gave him a sideways hand slap and a chest bump. They had played frisbee while waiting for the driver and Mason dropped his cherished lollipop in the guards pocket as we left. We were up in our resort hotel room and Mason was trying to hurry us up. He could see the pool and said "Mom, hurry before they leave." "Who," I asked. "My future friends," was his honest reply. Everywhere....this is Mason. He cant wait to go back to the orphanage to see his brother, and all his new friends. This entire trek through Africa he sees as a chance to make new friends. 

Inside joke. I am not sure this will be as funny to anyone else, but we laughed so hard and so much over this, I'd be remiss to not share. On the drive to Awassa we bonded with our driver Belay over the use of the drug chot. Then Lauren and Mason took this picture for him to illustrate the effects that he had described:

When we showed this to him he had to pull the car over. He laughed and laughed. Then he would look at it again and laugh some more. So then the ride home became a quest. He wanted to show us the effects in every village. So we looked for men sitting with frozen eyes, twisting their hair, and pushing their tongue to the side of their mouth. We became expert chot spotters. He pulled over a couple of time so we could get some pictures, and video. After this winning shot (the guy on the left is proudly holding his drug and the guy on the right is mimicking Lauren), I had to tell Balay that we had enough pictures of chot. 

And here's a chot shop. 

Boat ride. On our much-needed resort escape we took a boat out to see the hippos. They were cool, slow moving creatures and we can now say we saw hippos in the wild. But perhaps the best part was the boat ride. We saw the beautiful lake and the bird-lovers paradise. There were villagers bathing in the water that clearly isn't fit for westerners. 

We went to the fish market, which is where people sell the tilapia and catfish that they catch on the lake. We could also see fishermen at work. 

(Picture cut)

Day eight ... I think

E. Yesterday was the day I fell in love with E. I'm getting to know him more and see his personality. He is the smallest of the big kids and he knows how to use it. He is a charmer, using that big right-side dimple to his advantage whenever he can. He has all the caretakers right where he wants them. If he squawks they come to his rescue and bawl out the other kids. His form of getting disciplined is getting picked up sideways and placed someplace else. He is independent. He doesn't need the hugs like some of the other kids do. He will hug to show affection but he's selective. He will kick the ball up in the air, or try to dribble it between his legs (which are too short so he has to lift one). He plays with the kids but after a bit he does something on his own. He runs around like he owns his place. To me he seems different than the others who are sweet and waiting for their forever families. E is living in the moment and having fun. But now he is also connecting with Mason, Lauren and me. I can tell that we are special to him and he wants us around. 

Siblings. The boys are starting to work through the balance of power that is now our family dynamic. E found a way to keep Mason in check by not letting him pick him up without asking. Mason still really wants to pick him up, but E knows how to complain his way out of it. Mason realizes he's bigger and faster, so there's advantage there. In the morning they were having some tension but by the afternoon they were buddies, with E letting Mason give him a wild piggy back ride. Gives me a window into the adjustment that we are all going to have to make. It's going to be a ride!

Limo. My friend Jennifer who lives about a mile from us in Issaquah just happens to be in this city, so we decided to have dinner last night. I asked Ephram if he could drive us, and we were set to leave at 6:30. At 6:30 his wife (Yeshi--I had her name wrong earlier) came to tell me he was late. We called Belay, but he didn't have a car. So Yeshi offered to call her friend who has one of those blue and white covered three wheelers--a tricycle with a hair dryer engine. Lauren was sick but this almost convinced her to go--instead she enjoyed taking pictures of Mason and me as we squeezed into our limo. The headlamp lets out less light than a dinner candle, so the whole way the driver told us how difficult and dangerous it was to drive one of these at night. I should also say that Jennifer is dating a wealthy Ethiopian and they were a bit startled at our mode of transportation. But we made it! And we had dinner in a swank Italian restaurant, which feels very odd in this extremely poor country. 

Ordinary day. Yesterday we spent the morning and the afternoon at the orphanage. The kids played with our hair, kicked the ball, and watched TV. Now they are starting to ask when we leave. Clearly they know this routine. 

Feeding babies. Independently, Lauren went into the baby room and I went into the toddler room around lunch time. Well, I was lured in by two one-year-old boys standing at the gate who realized I would fetch if they threw their only toys--a plastic square and a Play-Doh cup--down the stairs. Over and over, with their "look what I can make her do" expressions and giggles. I got my exercise climbing stairs, then it was lunch time. One of the workers called me in and I picked up one of the throwers, a chubby trouble maker, as I climbed the gate. As I sat with him in front of me in the middle of the floor, the workers each had three kids lined up. A kid was fed the cereal with meat chunks mixture, while the other two waited patiently. Then another would be fed. Then another. So, each women fed three babies and I was still sitting there with my little mister chewing those meat chunks as fast as he could. I realized I was not making quota here but they patiently put all the other kids to bed...and I was still shoveling as fast as I could. With the rest of the kids asleep now, we finished the bowl and I went to find Lauren. Coincidentally she was sitting in the baby room, still feeding the only baby still up. 

Powerless. The power, the satellite connection, and yesterday the hot water go out on a regular basis. I find that I'm adjusting my pace. Instead of getting texts regularly or checking email, it's once or twice a day. If its out, we wait. 

Court passed!!

About a half hour away, still in the sprawling city, 1970s office building that hasn't been touched. Elevator broken. We went into a room with a big paper sign that said "silence"--clearly meant for the Americans.

We were late, which terrified me but didnt seem to bother the social worker. We hiked the 6 floors...which really means 7 because they start counting at 0.

We waited about 2 minutes, then we were invited into a small room with the judge and a court reporter. Lauren had to wait in the waiting room but Mason went in with me.

She asked me a standard set of questions plus a couple of bonus questions for Mason. It's not typical that they ask kids questions but I think he surprised her when she greeted him with a "how are you?" and he said "I'm good. How are you?"

And then she said "once the court rules this is irrevocable. Are you prepared for that?" I said "yes" and she said "the court has ruled favorably. He is now your child."

We were out in 5 minutes. 

He's an Averill!

Finding Hippos -- Day five

Hippo quest. We got up at 5 to head to Awasa to see hippos. Our driver was supposed to meet us at 6, but didn't, so we arranged another guy, and then the first one showed at 7:30. But we opted to wait, so eventually departed at 8:30 for the 4 hour drive. Ah, patience is something I'm learning over and over. 

Country drive. Once we got out of the city, we began to experience the beautiful countryside of Africa. We were just about the only car traveling amongst hundreds of farmers heading to market--men with cows, kids with donkeys, women with baskets and babies. Many young boys with a stick and a dozen goats. They travel for hours to sell their bounty at the market. Each village has only one market available, often a long walk, up to five hours. And by travel, I mean walk across the African plain. Everyone uses the same road and somehow it works. A row of cows blocks the street but the child tending them scoots them off in just about the right time. The driver honks to remind them not to back up as we veer around them. Two giant steer slowly meander across the road but slow down when they hear the honk. A two year old walking by herself somehow knows to stay on the gravel. A traffic jam is formed by two donkeys towing wagons and a line of goats, so the driver slows. As our driver put it, "where you are from a donkey is like a car and a horse is a limo." Different speeds, most heading to market...except one van with three white people zipping through to go see hippos.

Dead hyena. As we started the drive we saw two dead hyenas on the side of the road, a gentle reminder that we were in a different world. 

Our driver. Lauren rode shotgun and quickly connected with Balay by asking him to describe the effects of chot, the chewable drug we had heard about. With the broken English she tried to help him know she understood by acting the effects. Big, stary eyes, twisting your hair in silence. He was laughing so hard it was infectious to the rest of us. Then Mason had to pee, so he pulled over, grabbed Masons hand and took him to side-by-side bushes, their version of bonding. Later Lauren learned that he had grown up in a farm like the ones we passed and knew first hand that there was only one meal a day, and that five years old is too young to start working. His grandmother lived in the city and one day called his parents to send two of the ten to live with her. He and his sister won the lottery that day. The rest still live on the farm, where he spends one week every two years working. 

Life lessons. The six hour drive today wasn't anywhere near the same experience as driving to Spokane. We saw life up close and personal in a way we hadn't previously experienced. Mason was appauled at the times he saw animals whipped or beaten with sticks. Here animals aren't pets, they're tools or food. Kids work. Kids aren't supervised. Four year olds tend to babies. We talked with our driver about how HIV means certain death and is widespread, how hospitals and modern medicine are inaccessible with any illness. We saw people bathing and washing their clothes in dirty rivers. At the end I asked Mason what he thinks and he said "I think you guys expect less of me than kids here."

Alas. But we made it to Awassa. And I feel guilty saying we are in a resort on a lake, with a pool. It is very nice. Our biggest hardship is that there is too much wind today to rent a boat to go see the hippos. Maybe tomorrow.